You’re self-employed, got out of the rat race, and “became your own boss”. You have a lot of control over how you do your work and when and where but the result of your work has to be what your client wants. Otherwise your client won’t pay you. Your client is your boss.
A CEO of her own company, the prime decision-maker is still in hot water when shares plummet. Shareholders are furious, the board is disappointed, and suddenly the CEO pedals back or changes direction. The CEO is at the mercy of the company’s shareholders and board.
Political leaders are forced to step down or voted out in the next elections by their supporters. Even a dictator can be brought down by an angry nation. There’s always someone who has power over you.
It’s easy to think that when you’re employed, you have someone supervising you but in life there’s always someone who has power over you.
In a world where leadership is valued and encouraged, people forget that nobody is a leader without followers. When leaders fail to appease their followers, their followers put them out of power. Leadership and following is an interaction. The leaders aren’t the only ones exerting power over their following. The followers exert power over their leaders, deciding whether or not they want them in charge. Followers borrow their power to leaders and they can take it back.
How about a dictator who is so afraid of giving in to his subjects that he chooses to execute anyone who disagrees? He’s already lost his power over them. He can’t rule over dead people. In the end, the followers have the choice of whether or not to follow a leader.